Blood and Oranges by James Oliver Goldsborough & Princes of the Renaissance by Mary Hollingsworth - BOOK BEGINNINGS

 BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Thank you for joining me once again for Book Beginnings on Fridays! I have two books this week just for a change of pace.

Please share the first sentence (or so) of the book that has captured your attention this week. Add the link to your BBOF blog or social media post in the Linky box below. Please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag if you post or share on social media.

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

It began on an ordinary morning at the rancho, of which there been too many lately.

-- Blood and Oranges: The Story of Los Angeles, a Novel by James Oliver Goldsborough. 

This fast-paced historical novel tells the story of Los Angeles from the roaring twenties to the uproarious nineties. Goldsborough brings the research skills of his nonfiction writing and the crisp style of his years in journalism to this tale of tale of urban glamour, corruption, crime, beauty, glitz, and grime that is as sprawling and fascinating as Los Angeles itself. 

Blood and Oranges launched in March from City Point Press and is available for pre-order. 

The sea was calm on 5 August 1435 when Alfonso V of Aragon set sail along the southern Italian coast in search of a small Genoese fleet which, according to his spies, was in the area.

-- from Chapter I, "Usurpers: Alfonso of Aragon & Francesco Sforza," in Princes of the Renaissance: The Hidden Power Behind an Artistic Revolution by Mary Hollingsworth (Pegasus Books). 

Hollingsworth's new nonfiction book also came out in March. It tells the history of the patrons of the art and architecture of the Italian Renaissance, during the tumultuous period of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. 

Princes of the Renaissance is a beautiful book, filled with photographs of the places and color pictures of the art described.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Blood and Oranges:

Sadness was a big part of Willie's life. What could there be in this pretty young girl's life that brought sadness?

From Princess of the Renaissance:

However, Alphonso I was no longer the political force he had once been. In the summer of 1449 he had become infatuated with a nineteen-year-old Lucrecia d'Alagno, and she was now his publicly acknowledged mistress, treated as his queen and seated at his side to celebrate court festivities.